“For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die-but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Romans 5:6-8 (
ESV)
Introduction
How can it be? The greatest news ever heard has arrived! What is the good news? So as to not keep you wondering, it is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Have you beheld the glory of the Gospel? Be amazed, believer or unbeliever, that Christ has died for our sins. What better place to begin this blog? There is none.
Creation
In the beginning, God created the heavens, the earth, and all that dwells within it (Genesis 1). He created all through His Son, Jesus Christ, and without Him was nothing made that was made (John 3). Among God’s creation was a creature made in God’s own image. This creature is man. In a sinless world, God and man (Adam and Eve-the first humans) lived in harmony and all to the glory of God for which man was created. God blessed man greatly by giving them the Garden of Eden in which they dwelt. It was overflowing with the blessings and provision of God. Only one tree in the midst of the garden did God forbid that they eat from. This was the tree of good and evil. Sin was introduced into this world through Adam as his wife, Eve, was deceived by Satan into eating the fruit of the forbidden tree.
The Separation
The living God is a holy God. He is infinitely holy. Because of this, evil cannot be in His presence, and therefore His very nature demands punishment for sin-His wrath. Because we have all sinned and fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:23), all of us are deserving of God’s wrath. In our sin, like Adam and Eve, we have rebelled against God, and we have done it to His face. We have mocked Him and cursed His very name-His throne. To put it in blatant and true terms, we hate God in our sin. We have said to Him, “Your ways are not good enough. I rule my own life and I will not be ruled by anyone-to my dying breath. I despise You and Your Word.”
Does this offend you? Well, it would offend me to if God had not revealed the right question to me: Has this not much more offended God as we have actually said this to Him with our hearts and lives? Because we are not the holy God, we cannot even fathom how our rebellion has so grieved Him. Our sin is so unlike God and so against Him, that it divided our direct relationship with Him as Adam and Eve had. Our communion with God was severed because of the pit of sin placed between God and Man. But is a relationship with God still available to us as sinful human beings?
The Situation
Who can fathom the mercy of God? How can it be? He has provided a Mediator to bridge the gap between God and man. We were all headed for that pit, which is Hell. Hell is a place of complete isolation from God. Who can fathom this? Who can even begin to think of this? Not only that, it is the “lake of fire.” Here all who refuse to believe God and to accept His Son as their Savior will one day be eternally separated from His blessing presence and forever under His wrath (Revelation 20:15). This is where all who do not believe God are headed, and indeed where I was headed before He saved my soul.
Does this offend you? That still is not the right question, and never is. The right question is, who do you say Jesus is?
The Solution
The subject of sin has now been elaborated upon in short. We, in our sin, are separated from God. So what is the solution? How can we escape eternal death and wrath and, better yet, enjoy the freedom of a relationship with our Creator?
Here I paraphrase pastor and author John Piper who gave an illustration from when he went on vacation with his family. While on vacation, he was in a good mood, not complaining about a thing. It was a great trip. John and His family returned home and the man received a piece of mail in the mailbox. Inside an envelope he found his own credit card. How did it get there? On a note was the handwriting of one of his friends. His friend informed him that he had dropped it on the floor of his car. The funny thing was that John never even knew that his card was missing-not even for the duration of his vacation-until he received it in the mail. Contemplating this, he realized, “If I had known my card was missing on my vacation, would I not have been complaining and completely ruined the vacation for my family?” But he further realized that before he even knew he had a problem, the card was already on its way in the mail--the solution was already on its way.
Is this not the human situation? We have been separated from God by the fall--by our sin. It is His mercy that He has revealed this to me, and He has, in His divine providence, revealed it to you today. Before we knew we had a problem, God had already sent the one and only Solution on the way. This solution is His Son, Jesus Christ. Christ put aside His glory and came to earth as a man--as a Humble Servant. He became nothing! Philippians 2:6-8 says that Jesus, “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
That is why Christ died on the cross--so that we might die to sin! He was brutally beaten, mocked, and spit upon by man (Mark 14:65). He was cruelly nailed to a cross and killed by the hands of those He loved--us!! He was crucified to save us from our sin! On the cross, an unseen event took place as the skies were covered in darkness. During the time that He hung there, Christ received from the Father the wrath for our sin so that we do not have to. Three days later, He arose from the dead and ascended to His Father, just as He said He would! He arose so that we might arise to new life!
The Salvation
So what must take place to receive the salvation made available by the Savior, Jesus Christ? Romans 10:9-10 tells us loud and clear: “because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.”
There is a critical difference between believing in God and believing God. “There are many people who believe in God that do not believe Him,” said R.C. Sproul. God’s Word says, “Even the demons believe-and shudder” (James 2:19)! But do you believe Him? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that only He can remove the penalty due to you for your sin? Who do you say that Christ is? Jesus asks it of you Himself: "Then he said to them, 'But who do you say that I am?' And Peter answered, 'The Christ of God'” (Luke 9:20).
The Gift
Salvation and new life--eternal life--is available to you as a gift from God! Ephesians 2:4-5 tells us of this free gift: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved.” We cannot earn any favor before God. None! JESUS PAID IT ALL! Our works are in response and radiate from a grateful heart and un-concealable passion for what God has already paid for us.
Believe that Christ is Savior, and confess it to Him with your mouth today. Go to bed tonight a Christian. You do not know what tomorrow holds, or whether tomorrow exists for you. Neither do I. Do not live another day without assurance. Be assured today that when you die, you will forever spend eternity with God because you have been bought with the precious blood of Christ, who gave His life and received God’s wrath on your behalf.
Amen.
Should you need to speak with me or would like to pray with someone to receive Christ, contact me at fswebdesk@gmail.com, or call my church at (303) 429-3499. Any of us would be overjoyed to pray with you! But do not hesitate. Fall on your knees before Christ now, and pour out your heart to Him and receive Him as your Savior.
God bless you, my friends!
Franz Schneider
